The Golden Hawks are not done. They can still qualify for the District 11 Class 3A playoffs and it doesn't require a miralce finish.

But to avoid being cooked and having their bid to return to districts spoiled the Hawks (4-4, 4-3) must find a way to get junior tailback Darrius Webb loose against stingy Northampton next Saturday. Webb, the Lehigh Valley Conference rushing leader, was held to 78 yards on 30 tough carries in the Hawks' 31-28 loss to Freedom Friday night.

Webb entered averaging nearly 9 yards per carry. Get him going and have senior quarterback Brian Morris make better decisions in the pocket and not throw errant passes that get intercepted, then the Hawks might be able to upset Northampton.

If victorious, Bethlehem Catholic could then qualify for districts with a win against Easton in the regular season finale Halloween night at Cottingham Stadium.

It's not a compromising position to be in, but at least the Hawks still have a chance. The next two games will have a playoff atmosphere.

"We've been playing playoff games here for the last three weeks and that's what we keep telling our kids," Hawks coach Tarik Haddad said. "We're almost there and then we take a step back. We have to be able to shake this off.

"The sun comes up tomorrow and we have to go back to work. That's what we do from a perspective of trying to show up for work everyday, and that's what we are going to ask our coaching staff and our kids to do against a tough opponent coming in next week that's in a similar situation as ours. They need wins.

"It's going to be a dogfight for sure."

Costly penalty: Bethlehem Catholic provided a huge helping hand by committing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on Freedom's game-winning six-play, 67-yard drive in the final minute, which was capped off with Gregory Taylor kicking a 22-yard field goal with a second remaining.

The naughty play was on a late hit out of bounds on quarterback Ryan Tress. It resulted in Freedom getting a first-and-10 at its 48-yard line.

"I don't know what happened," Haddad said. "I couldn't see it. I know one of our guys was right behind him, another guy chasing. Whatever the penalty was we'll live with. It wasn't by malice. It was just enthusiasm by the kid, not knowing where he was on the sidelines. It wasn't a malicious hit."

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Morning Call Sports Reporters Stephen Miller and Tom Housenick blog about high school and college sports action on and off the field in and around the Lehigh Valley, only at themorningcall.com.

Meet the bloggers

TOM HOUSENICK watches every move Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum makes on the court, laughs at every joke by Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon and watches all the Divisions II and III coaches and players do it for the love of the game. Basketball makes the cold weather season go by fast. Already can’t wait for late February and early March when each possession could result in a season ending or continuing on.

Wrapping up his ninth year at The Morning Call, STEPHEN MILLER is back for year No. 4 on the LVC football beat. He chronicled Central Catholic's state-championship run in 2010, watched Nazareth win its first LVC title in 2011 and saw the league crown tri-champions for the first time in 2012. He has also covered the Phillies, college football and a variety of prep sports while with The Morning Call. To stay updated on the 2013 LVC football season, check out the Varsity blog and follow him on Twitter @mcall_smiller.